If your car is prone to constant rattling, wind noise, tire noise, or vibrations inside the car cabin, your best bet would be to use automotive sound-deadening materials.
Nothing is irritating like going on a summer road trip with your friends, and in the middle of an expressway singing, your automobile starts rattling due to poor insulation.
If you need to enjoy quieter rides with your friends, you will need to install sound insulation materials inside your car cabin. Below is a detailed guide of the best automotive sound deadening material for your car.
What is Sound Deadening?
Sound deadening is a method for reducing road noise, rattles, and vibrations inside a car cabin. This will improve the ride’s comfort by eliminating noise and heat and improving the stereo’s sound quality.
To “deaden” undesired noise, sound-deadening material is placed over metal to dampen vibrations, reducing unwanted car noise. Whenever you read the word “deadening,” it refers to the act of stopping metal from rattling, and it’s generally in the context of soundproofing a car.
A noise-reducing material is applied to the metal or plastic body panels to minimize noise flow into a car.
The sound-deadening material is often available in sheets that have an adhesive backing or as a spray. Typically, additional sound-deadening material is placed on the inside of the cabin floor, door panels, and the cargo/trunk area, among other areas of the vehicle, with exposed sheet metal.
What is the Best Automotive Sound Deadening Material?
Dynamat is a thin, pliable, & easier-to-cut and-mold sheet that effectively eliminates noise-causing noise and vibration through viscoelastic properties that facilitate vibroacoustic energy conversion.
In brief, noise is converted into quiet energy. This process is referred to as “damping.” The Dynamat product range has additional acoustical materials that absorb airborne noise.
Dynamat employs a technique known as ‘damping,’ which, in its simplest form, is the act of dampening vibration (noise) by dissipation or absorbing the energy creating vibrations. Dynamat turns the vibration’s motion into inaudible, minimal heat energy.
The product comes in a variety of kits designed for trunk, doors, floor, hood, and headliner. You can also purchase it in bulk and wrap it around the cabin.
So, it’s up to you to make a decision on how much sound deadening you need and the cash you want to spend.
If you want to do a full cabin, you need to purchase Dynamat mega, which measures 72sqft. This should be large enough for the entire car cabin.
This product is a great sound deadener. It’s lined with an aluminum coating, which makes it resistant to heat, making it not only great for cabin use but also for installation under the hood.
To install Dynamat, you’ll have to remove all the seats, door panels, carpeting, headliner, and panels. Apply Dynamat extreme on all exposed metal surfaces. That, in most cases, is more than enough to spot a significant difference.
However, some people take an extra step and add more layers of protective thermal insulation and noise reduction materials to the headliner, hood, and the floor.
If you want to enjoy a quieter ride rather than constant car vibrations and rattling, you will need effective sound insulation installed in your car.
These materials will not only get rid of the rattling vibrations but will also improve the acoustics quality of your car stereo. Below are the best sound deadening materials for the car.
Choosing the Right Sound Deadening Materials for Your Car?
Type of Sound Deadener
There is a range of materials to decide from when it comes to reducing sound in your car. The following explanations will help you choose which approach is better for you.
- Butyl: Butyl rubber is a true sound-deadening material. This material’s purpose is to reduce vibrations and noise in the car. It will reduce the noises of pebbles striking the wheel, exhaust noise entering the cabin, etc. It is also an excellent option for boosting the performance of car stereos, as it does not interfere with bass and other airborne frequencies. The substance is a sticky, flexible polymer that sticks well to unfinished panels. Typically packaged with an aluminum foil wrapping and sold in sheets. It must be applied with a roller on uneven surfaces for optimal effects. However, it does not often peel off readily after installation.
- Foam: As you shop online, you may encounter products made from closed foam materials. While it achieves a similar objective of noise reduction, it does not deal with the same constituents as butyl. Instead, it is meant to combat airborne sound waves. It is designed to deal with issues such as the sound of oncoming cars and other external noises. Foam can potentially interfere with the audio quality inside the cabin if it is not applied effectively. However, this does not imply that one is always preferable to the other.
- Sprays: There are hardly many soundproofing sprays on the market, but they are important because they also aid in reducing noise in your car. In contrast to butyl or foam above, they are sprayed directly from the can, eliminating the requirement to trim pieces to size. Although these materials minimize noise, they should not be substituted by foam or butyl soundproofing. Instead, using the spray where others cannot reach it is recommended. Spray-on sound deadener is used on the exterior car surfaces, tight areas, and gaps between the other sound-deadening materials.
Installation
Some sound deadener mats are simple to install. You may either lay them down loosely or remove the backing and adhere them. Others, though, are more complicated. You may need a roller, and for optimal efficiency, you may need to remove your car’s seats/door panels, which need additional tools.
Temperature Rating
Some sound deadeners are also meant to serve as heat shields, while others are not. Those in the latter type are susceptible to melting or fusing if put in direct sunlight or close to a functional engine block.
Even if they do not, the glue may begin to flow, or the material may begin to stink. Check the heat rating of any soundproofing material you purchase if you reside in a country with hot summers or intend to reduce engine noise directly.
1. Noico Solutions Sound Deadening Mat
This is a cost-effective, sound insulation material that improves your daily commutes. Noico mats are characterized by foil on the top, a butyl adhesive layer in the middle, and a protective film underneath.
Compared to other noise deadening mats such as Gtmat, Extreme, and Boot Mat, Noico provides up to 20% saving given that a square foot only costs $1.77.
2. Kilmat Sound Deadening Mat
If you find yourself tight on budget but still want the sound deadening effectiveness offered by Dynamat, then Kilmat is your best shot.
It reduces noises and handles rattles while at the same time, it’s affordable for everyone.
According to the manufacturer, you save up to 20% cost comparing to Dynamat Extreme, Gtmat, Hushmat, and other high-end automotive sound-deadening materials.
It mainly consists of butyl and has a weight of 0.35 lbs. Per 1sqft is hence ensuring maximum efficiency that you would get from 50 mil thickness material.
It comes in nicely sized sheets that make it easier to cut and install. One stack contains 47 sheets, and each sheet measures Size 9.8×15.7 inches.
The material is aluminum coated, which protects it from harmful heat and reduces road noise vibrations.
3. Fatmat Sound Deadener
Fatmat is an asphalt-based material that is sold as one roll measure 33.5ft long and 18 inches wide.
You’ll have to cut it out into shapes that fit the specific parts of your car you want to soundproof.
The product comes with a roller, which plays an important role in the installation process. The roller allows you to apply pressure on the sound deadening mat for it to stick properly.
It’s made of butyl, which is easy to cut into specific shapes and sizes. It’s fitted with an aluminum coating making it heat resistant. You can, therefore, apply it on hotter surfaces of the car, such as under the hood.
The best part of this product is the fact that it doesn’t require additional adhesives because the rolls are self-adhesive.
4. Thermo-Tec Heat and Sound Suppressor
As the name suggests, this material works as both sound and heat insulator. Unfortunately, this product only wins in terms of sound deadening and not in regard to heat insulation.
I wouldn’t recommend it for heat insulation purposes. Luckily it does well when it comes to sound suppression.
The polythene surface enables the material to protect your car from outside radiant heat sources. Unfortunately, the material tends to unglue in case of very high temperatures.
However, if you’d just want something that will deal with road noise and at the same time improve the stereo acoustics of your car, then this product is a must-have.
5. SoundQubed Q-MAT
This adhesive butyl sound dampening material is designed to reduce vibrations, decrease road-noise, and improve the car stereo quality.
It features a strong adhesive side that sticks to the surface applied.
The product is sold in 16 square feet made of 100% butyl rubber and an aluminum backing that gives it heat insulation properties.
This product is commonly used to:
- Reduce ear fatigue and stress during long drives
- Decrease exhaust noise
- Reduce road noise in older vehicles
- Increase dynamic range of the car stereo system
6. Gtmat Sound Deadener
This product is sold in two rolls that measure 16 inches wide and 25 square inches in length. Provided with the GTMAT is a biodegradable degreaser, application roller, and GTMAT decals.
This sound deadener is made of a suitable sound absorber material that adds more weight to the rattling parts of the car.
The application is quite simple. You will only need to apply pressure when using the application roller. This helps ensure that the bond between the panels and the self-adhesive part is strong as possible.
Unfortunately, the downside with GTMAT is the price. Most users have raised that the product costs more than what it offers and that there are much better alternatives out there.
7. Hushmat Deadener
If you want a great alternative to Dynamat, then Hushmat is your best bet. It’s less expensive, easier to install than Dynamat, and the same efficiency as Dynamat.
And since it’s a butyl material, it will help reduce road noise, vibrations and improve the sound quality of your car stereo.
Additionally, because it’s a butyl-based deadener, you won’t have to worry about rubber stinks or heat damaging it.
According to the manufacturer, it reduces up to 40% of the heat and can withstand temperatures between -30 degrees and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for the only best automotive sound deadening material, then Dynamat is your best bet.
However, if you’re on a budget and want something that will get the job done in almost the same efficiency as Dynamat, then I would recommend the other products listed here.
Another popular product is Noico; it’s affordable and thicker, making it great in sound deadening.
It’s my hope that this article has helped you distinguish between different products to allow you to make a more informed decision.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3599650/
- https://dynamat.eduardomaio.net/what-is-sound-deadening/
- https://www.motorbiscuit.com/worth-add-sound-deadening-car/
- https://www.dynamat.com/products/dynamat-xtreme/
Meet Mike O’Connor, (a DIY enthusiast), living in Cincinnati, a city ranked as the noisiest in the USA.
As a work from home dad, I have a first hand experience of how noise can truly affect your well being.
Soundproofing isn’t something that should be taken as a hobby, it should be a skill that every homeowner should be equipped with.
Most of the work documented on this blog comes from purely first hand experience, and the products recommended work as indicated.